As a Canadian, we can freely travel to Cuba and it's a popular CDN vacation spot. Wonderful people, great scenery, NO hassles from anyone on anything. Only thing the gov't was particular about was ensuring, when you left, that any cigars you purchased (yum) were in gov't-approved packaging.
There is a BIG business selling counterfeit cigars (if you could even call them that) and rum to idiotic tourists on various beaches looking to save that extra Nth buck. Always amazed me that people who would shudder at the idea of buying a bottle of booze from a stranger on their local corner would happily do it on a beach in XYZ to save a buck -- on something that is already dirt (by CDN standards) cheap. The gov't doesn't want two fo their most valuable export products (and tourism hurt.
No illusions about the gov't and the economic effects of the US embargo + collapse of the USSR, but it is a great place to visit, a nice eye-opener for our "I need the latest iPod" society, and a nice way to help the locals who are hurt the most by the current situation re: the trickle-down effect from tourism on their economy.
But, more importantly, by leaving behind some extra gear that are impossible/too costly for the resort/hotel staff to easily acquire, you can give some help DIRECTLY to the folks who will appreciate it the most.
Since tipping is usually frowned upon, normal practice is to bring extra clean t/shirts, dresses, windbreakers, etc as well as sundries, basic over-the-counter (e.g. NOT in any way potentially harmful) medications/ointments (think topical antibiotics, Pepto, Maalox and alike), bandages, Tylenol/Ibuprofen, etc., and any unused/opened toiletries, etc and simply leave them neatly on your bed the day of your departure. Basically, come with a lot and depart with little. It is VERY well received.
As an aside, if the average NA garage could do 1/2 the job with 2x the supplies that the average Cuban teenager does everyday keeping their amazing fleet of old cars/trucks running, there'd be a lot more happy drivers in NA.
Hopefully the coming years will see a long-overdue change.